Ten years
by dreamers4eva
Summary: What was going on inside Brianna's head when she found out that her father was back after ten years? Why was she so angry at him? And what would happen if a certain someone got hold of her to get back at her dad? Well lets find out...
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so this is just a short story based on Brianna and how she felt after talking to Dustfinger in the chapter The Wrong Words from Inkspell. This is my first so please tell me what you think!**

**!!!!!I DONT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS, ETC!!!!!!**

Ten Years

Brianna was sitting alone in her room; praying that Violante would not send for her.

_Everyone said you were dead!_ It had broken her heart to say those things to her father but every word of it had been true. Still….she couldn't shake the feeling she'd had when she saw him for the first time in ten years, ten long years.

She had wanted to run to him, touch him just to make sure that he was really there and not just another dream. She had wanted him to hug her like he used to and tell her that everything was going to be fine now. She had wanted him to give her a good reason for staying for ten whole years.

_I couldn't come back. _

Ten years. In that time she had done everything she could think of to convince herself that he was dead. How many times had she tried to explain this to the Black Prince? Even when she had been younger, she had tried to find some kind of explanation for her father's absence and this was all she could come up with: either her father couldn't come back to her or he wouldn't come back to her. Brianna could not bring herself to entertain the idea that he wouldn't come back if he could. However that only left her with one other option: he couldn't come back.

The only reason that would justify such a long absence was that he was dead. Well, she had thought, better that than being hurt or trapped somewhere all alone.

So Brianna had adjusted to life without a father. Not that she hadn't had people around her, looking after her when she had needed it. The Black Prince had taught her a few useful tricks, so had Cloud-dancer and her mother……well her mother had never been the same since her father left and then after Rosanna….

_I was afraid of going to sleep for ten whole years, and now here you are, hale and hearty, as if nothing had happened!_ Brianna regretted shouting at him. She knew she had a fiery temper that even after all these years she could not control but that did not stop her feeling guilty. She hadn't meant all the things she had said. She wanted to tell him that she was glad he was back and how much she had missed him.

But how could he just walk right back into her life like that and expect her to be fine with it? And why had she had to go and see him? Surely he should have come here and –

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Wrenched from her thoughts, Brianna turned to find Basta leaning on the door frame examining her triumphantly like she was a bird caught in a trap.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Me? I'm just an old friend of your fathers". With every word he said Brianna's eyes narrowed. "You look just like him, only your pretty face is missing a few….minor details." As Basta spoke the last words, he withdrew a sharp knife from his belt and took a menacing step forward.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

**once again please review and let me know what you think!**

**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I DONT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS!!!!!!!!!!!**

Dustfinger crept through the streets soundlessly, both martens scurrying along at his feet. It was late at night and the darkness was unbroken. Even after a few weeks of being here, his eyes had still not quite adjusted to the lack of light bulbs, lamps and streetlights that made this world so much darker than the other one.

Farid had been close to tears when Dustfinger had told him that he would have to stay behind at Roxanne's farm. He had shouted, stomped his feet and even tried to follow him. It was only when Dustfinger had threatened to get Meggie to read him back that Farid finally gave up and traipsed back to the farm, dragging his feet. Dustfingers' heart had gone out to him but tonight, he needed to be alone.

There were few people that walked the streets of Ombra by night. Most of them were soldiers but Dustfinger avoided their suspicious glances into the shadows effortlessly. Had it always been this easy to roam the streets without being spotted?

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind, he heard a sound that made him stop dead in his tracks. A deep growl that came from right behind him.

Dustfinger whirled around and found himself face to face with a huge black bear. He could feel the bear's warm breath on his face. "That's the second time since you've come back that you let us sneak up behind you. I wonder; is the amazing fire dancer losing his touch?" The Black Prince came into view from behind the bear and pushed its muzzle away from Dustfingers face.

Dustfinger let out a sigh of relief and a small smile spread over his face. "So are you going to tell me what you are doing here so late at night? Or am I going to have to guess?" said the Prince.

"I could ask you the same question", answered Dustfinger.

The Black Prince laughed quietly. "Yes I suppose you could", he said as they set off together the bear following a few paces behind.

For a few minutes they just walked on silently, their feet taking them down the familiar paths. "I heard what happened with Brianna." Dustfinger stayed silent. They walked a little further before the Prince continued. "You know you two are probably more alike than you think". Dustfinger still did not say a word; he knew that the Prince would have watched out for Brianna in his absence but he still did not wish to discuss her with him.

"Dustfinger?"

Dustfinger looked at his old friend and saw concern in his eyes but that wasn't all. He also saw that same burning curiosity that he saw in Roxanne's, that question of where have you been? He got the impression that the Black Prince was very much on Brianna's side in this.

"Fine don't talk to me. I'd almost forgotten how secretive you were." The sound of footsteps ahead of them forced them to retreat around the corner of the closest house. As the voices grew louder, Dustfinger's heart sank when he recognised one of the voices: Brianna. What was she doing out so late? It wasn't safe for a young girl to be out alone at night. Then concern turned to pure terror when he recognised the other voice.

"Get your hands off me!"

"Shhh. Your coming with me whether you like it or not princess".

Dustfinger peered around the wall and saw the struggle between his daughter and Basta. Basta's arm was wrapped around Brianna's waist pinning her arms to her sides and had his other hand over her mouth to stop her from making any more noise.

By now the Black Prince had seen what was happening and had already drawn his knife. Dustfinger braced himself for the fight that was surely about to happen but before either of them could do anything, Brianna had bitten Basta's hand. Basta retaliated almost instinctively, hitting her across the face.

"Arghhh! You little-"

But the rest of his sentence was drowned out by the deafening scream that came from Brianna. Within seconds two of the soldiers that Dustfinger had slipped past earlier came running onto the scene.

"Oi!" The soldiers placed themselves in between Brianna and Basta. The shout seemed to have awakened Dustfinger and the Prince who had both been standing there frozen just watching the scene unfold in front of them. They both ran to Brianna.

"Are you ok?" questioned the Black Prince.

"This isn't over princess," Basta said before turning his attention to Dustfinger. "You had better keep an eye on that one," nodding towards Brianna, "I will come back for her."

A couple of hours later, after the soldiers had thoroughly searched the surrounding area for any signs of Basta who had disappeared down a side street and then assuring them that her father and the Prince meant her no harm, Brianna, Dustfinger and the Black Prince were sat in her room.

Brianna would never admit it but she was scared. The fact that he had managed to get past the guards and into her room was frightening to her, not to mention the look on his face as he said those last words: _I will come back for her. _

She dabbed the damp cloth against her lips again. Her bottom lip had been cut in the struggle but aside from that he hadn't really done that much damage. It was just the thought of him out there, perfectly able to come back whenever he felt like it that made her shudder.

"Are you sure you're ok?" asked the Black Prince.

She nodded, wondering why she was lying to him. It was clear that she was not remotely ok and who could blame her?

"This is all my fault." It was the first thing that Dustfinger had said and both Brianna and the Prince looked up at him. Dustfinger stood up and walked over to the window, Brianna knew that he was never comfortable staying inside even ten years apart could not erase all the memories she had of him.

"Don't be stupid," said the Prince dismissing the idea completely. He turned back to Brianna. Here we go, thought Brianna. She knew as soon as she had seen the Black Prince that she would not be able to get out of this without having to face an interrogation.

"What happened exactly?"

Brianna told them as best she could, but the night was starting to become a bit of a blur. She told them how he had been there standing in her doorway, she told them how he had dragged her outside. She told them how she didn't know where he had wanted to take her or where he had come from for that matter.

"But what did he want?"

Brianna took a deep breath. "I don't know".

"Well he must have said something-"

"Like what?" Brianna was getting angry now; she could feel her temper rising quite quickly to boiling point.

"Did he not say where he was going to take you?"

There it was boiling point. "Now that you mention it, yeah he did say something right after he'd finished telling me about his unhappy childhood and anger issues."

"Ok, ok. I see your point." said the Black Prince.

Brianna stood up and walked over to the small bowl of warm water in the corner of the room. Once she had picked up the bowl and put the piece of cloth in it, she placed it outside her door. Only after she had made sure that the door was shut, she turned at looked at her father whose back was still turned to the room.

"Who was he?"

He did not turn.

"He said you knew him."

At this he slowly turned. He and the Prince exchanged looks before he said anything. Brianna noticed this and it did nothing to improve her temper.

"I do know him."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**!!!!!!Once again i dont own anything!!!!!!!**

"Who was he?" repeated Brianna through gritted teeth.

Dustfinger knew that she had a right to know but somehow he could not bring himself to tell her. Great, he thought, yet another reason for her to hate me. Wasn't he supposed to be the one to protect her from all this ugliness? Wasn't supposed to keep her safe and happy? He glanced at the Black Prince; he had been unusually quiet for a while now but at his friends' glance, the Prince finally spoke up.

"All that matters is that you're safe-"

Brianna glared at the both of them. "Get out".

"What?" The Black Prince looked taken aback.

"If you don't want to tell me that's fine but I have an early morning tomorrow and now I want you to leave."

"Brianna I really think-"

"Prince lets go. Basta will not risk returning tonight. Brianna will be safe." With that Dustfinger walked out of the room, followed reluctantly by the Black Prince but not before giving his daughter a last fleeting look.

When they had both stepped out into the cool night air, the Black Prince turned to face Dustfinger. "We should not leave her."

"The place is now crawling with guards. She will be fine."

"That's not the point. She must be terrified; he got into her _room_ Dustfinger."

"Don't you think I know that? I would have stayed with her all night but she didn't want us there."

"I don't care what she wants. We shouldn't have left her." Dustfinger didn't reply. "She needs to know about Basta. You do realise that don't you? She needs to know how dangerous he can be."

Dustfinger just nodded absently.

**A couple of days later.**

Brianna was sat on top of one of the many high hills that overlooked Ombra. It was one of her favourite places to come and just be alone for a while. She had come here after Rosanna had died. It was so peaceful up here; she could just sit and watch as everyone went about their lives.

Today everyone was running around busying themselves with the jobs that needed to be done to celebrate the return of their Prince. Cosimo had come back. It was impossible but then again…..her father had done it so why couldn't Cosimo.

She hadn't known him very well before he was pronounced dead but somehow even she could tell that he was different. Violante never stopped talking about it but when Brianna had asked Violante could not tell her exactly what was different about him. He was _different_.

If she was honest with herself, Brianna didn't care if he was different. He had come back and that was all that mattered. Of course that didn't guarantee that he would give her a second thought. She was only a maidservant after all. But just the fact that he was there gave her hope.

However with the return of Cosimo came the Adderhead, the Piper and Firefox. Things at the castle could not be further from happy. The Adderhead brought a sense of fear with him wherever he went.

Then there was Basta. She had not seen or heard anything from him since that night but still the fear did not just go away. The morning after her mother had ridden to the castle after finding out what had happened from Dustfinger. Brianna had questioned her mother about who he was and finally she gave in. Roxanne had told her everything.

So now she knew and it had not made her feel any better. The fear had intensified and just the mere thought of it made her look over her shoulder ensuring that she was still alone. Once again the feeling of guilt had come over her. Why did she have to yell at her father every time he came too close? She now understood why he had found it so hard to tell her who Basta was.

She was angry with herself. She knew she was pushing him further and further away. Why couldn't she just accept that he was back and be happy about it? Because you're afraid he will leave again, said a small but truthful voice inside her.

Brianna pushed her hair out of her eyes, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She would not allow herself to cry. Not even when she was perfectly alone. She would not cry.

The sound of a twig snapping behind her made her open her eyes. She rose to her feet quickly and turned.

"Hello princess."

Then everything went black and Brianna fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

**I know another cliff hanger but i just couldnt resist *evil grin***

**At the risk of sounding really desperate please please please review and tell me what you think, opinions, suggestions, hints as to whether or not i should keep writing it, or whatever else pops into your heads.**


	4. Chapter 4

**If you have read up to chapter 4 and still haven't reviewed then shame on you! Thankyou to the people that have reviewed :) So heres the next chapter hope you all enjoy!**

**!!!!I DONT OWN ANYTHING!!!!!!!!**

**Chapter 4**

It was a few weeks after the incident with Brianna but Dustfinger could not stop thinking about her.

The Black Prince had sworn that he would listen out for any news on Basta but with no luck so far. The people that lived here barely remembered who he was which made it extremely difficult for anyone to spot him in a street and relay the news back to the Prince. But still no news was good news right?

Every night since Basta's visit, Dustfinger had crept inside the castle gates just to get a glimpse of Brianna and make sure that his daughter was still safe. But every night he came away disappointed. The fact that he hadn't yet seen her didn't trouble him; even without the maddening number of windows that the castle had, he doubted that, after the events of that night, Brianna would linger in front of a window.

One night the Black Prince had caught him standing there, looking up at one of the windows hopelessly.

"You could always go inside. I'm sure the guards wouldn't mind," he had said.

"No, but Brianna would." The Prince shook his head but had stood with him for a while anyway.

The next day he had come to Dustfinger to tell him that he had just heard some troubling news and had to leave immediately. After explaining exactly where he was going the Prince had tried to convince him to at least attempt to talk to his daughter. He hadn't replied but then the Black Prince hadn't honestly expected him too.

"Why are we going into town again?" asked Farid, pulling Dustfinger from his thoughts.

"I need to give Nettle this root and Cloud-dancer has a message for me. While I'm doing that you need to go find Meggie I need to talk to her."

They entered the city gates together. "Bring Meggie here," Dustfinger said. "And don't get so lovesick you lose your way." The boy blushed deeply and ran off in the opposite direction.

**(AN: Dustfinger goes and gets message from Cloud-dancer same as in the book. i wont write it all down because we all know what happens)**

How did she come to be here? What business did they have in his story? Dustfinger saw Farid and Meggie standing close to each other. They seemed to be deep in conversation with each other. Cursing himself for being the bearer of bad news once again, he walked over to them.

He glanced first at Farid who was giving him a strange look, before turning to Meggie. He had not even opened his mouth to recount the bad news when he saw the same look that Farid was giving him on Meggie's face. It was only when he saw the look on Meggie's face though that he realised what it was: fear.

"What's happened?" he said sharply.

Farid placed himself a little in front of Meggie protectively.

"Fenoglio was up at the castle this morning to talk to Cosimo," she began nervously as though she was afraid of his reaction. "He saw her Ugliness on his way. He said she looked upset about something so he asked her what was wrong. She said…..she said that….oh Dustfinger."

"What?" He hated that look in her eyes. It was the same look that her mother so often gave him. She felt sorry for him. Well he did not need her sympathy.

"She said that Brianna had gone missing."

Dustfinger just stared at her with that unreadable expression on his face. On the outside he gave nothing away but his insides were screaming. Everything else had flown out of his mind completely: Resa's note, Mo being hurt, the Magpie being back. Not Brianna. Please. Not Brianna.

How? When? Why? Questions spinning around in his head. Questions to which he had no answers. There it came again: that familiar pain of losing someone. The pain of not knowing where a loved one was or if they were even still alive.

"Dustfinger?" said Farid nervously. His voice sounded distant as though it was coming from somewhere far away.

Dustfinger didn't answer. His mind was working furiously. He needed to find her but he needed help. The Black Prince. He would know what to do. Suddenly he became aware that he was still clutching the note from Resa. Silently he handed it to Meggie, who took it confused.

The Black Prince was in the secret camp. Resa and Mo were there too. He could do as Resa had asked and take Meggie to them at the same time as finding the Black Prince. Oh God, I hope she's ok. He guessed he would have to take Farid too. Where could he have taken her? He needed to get a message to Roxanne as well or she would think he had disappeared again. If he's hurt her…..

Meggie had finished reading and looked up at Dustfinger with horror written all over her face.

"I will take you to them right away."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**This takes place when Dustfinger, Meggie and Farid go to the secret camp, find that there is nobody there and move on to follow the captives' progress to the Castle of Night. **

**!!!!!!!I don't own any of the characters, etc!!!!!!!**

Brianna felt her head throbbing painfully. Somehow it felt heavier than usual. Her entire body ached and her heart thudded against her chest. Where was she? Her mind was slow and unresponsive. She tried to open her eyes but the sound of voices stopped her.

She kept still; afraid that someone would notice that she was awake. Her instincts told her that she was in trouble but she couldn't quite figure out why yet. The voices were coming closer. Steadily her mind caught up with her racing heart and she began to think a bit more clearly. What have you gotten yourself into this time? She thought.

Using her other senses, she felt the rope against her wrists, binding her hands together behind her back. She tried to listen to what the voices were saying but it was no use she couldn't make anything out. Instead she strained her ears for any other sounds that would give her some kind of idea as to where she was. She could hear the distant sounds of birds but everything else was strangely muffled.

She could also smell something vaguely familiar. It took her a little longer than usual to identify it; it was the traces of smoke and ash. Father. He used to smell like that. It used to comfort her in the night, make her feel warm and safe.

As the voices grew louder still, Brianna suddenly recognised one of them: Basta. That voice had haunted her nightmares for weeks now and it was a voice that she was not likely to forget. Now that she now what he was capable of she was more afraid of him than ever but there was something else as well. Knowing what he had done made her hate him intensely; she felt anger and rage build inside her and she wanted nothing more than to hurt him as he had once hurt her father.

Brianna tried once again to hear what they were saying but it was impossible. After a few minutes of just waiting, waiting for them to reach her, waiting for them to discover that she was no longer unconscious, that she realised that the voices were gradually getting quieter. They were moving away again.

At this she tried again to open her eyes. Everything around her came in and out of focus. She blinked a few times. Slowly her vision cleared. She was in some kind of building. It was badly built. Small rays of light came from the many holes in the roof and everything seemed very unclean. Looking up to the roof she saw that the sky outside was full of oranges and reds. Sunset.

She looked around the room again, this time taking care to take in everything. The more she looked around, she saw that this must be the only room of the building. Every where she looked there was evidence that whoever had lived here had eaten, worked and slept in here. She wondered if the place had already been deserted when Basta had brought her here or if Basta had gotten rid of them.

Brianna shifted her weight uncomfortably. She was tied to a hard chair and her body longed to move, just to get some feeling back into her legs. As soon as she had opened her eyes she knew that there was no chance of escape. She was tied up so tightly that just shifting her weight was difficult. What was she going to do? What the _hell _was she going to do?

Just then she heard the sound of someone making their way towards her quickly. Before she could even consider feigning sleep someone banged open the door and saw her.

"She's awake! Basta! SHE'S AWAKE!"

Basta was there in seconds, standing in the doorway just like he had that night when he had managed to get to her room. Smiling broadly he said, "Well now sleeping beauty, we were beginning to think that you would never wake up weren't we Slasher?"

Slasher just grinned stupidly. Brianna did not say a word; she didn't think she could trust herself to even open her mouth. However she did not take her eyes off Basta. Watching his every movement, she was desperately trying to find a way out of this mess but she was gripped by fear and her mind simply refused to function properly.

"Are we not feeling very chatty today?" asked Basta, his smile getting more and more pronounced. He was enjoying this but Brianna just bit her lip and glared at him. She could not let herself play his games, she would not give in.

"It was a struggle to get you all the way out here," he continued, "You know where you are I suppose?"

Still Brianna said nothing. She knew. The smell, the tools around her, she was in a charcoal burners' hut; which meant that she was in the Wayless Wood. If she had to guess, she was quite far into the wood as well judging by the sounds around her.

"A friend of yours was particularly……upset about you coming with us."

At these words Brianna felt her whole body tense and Basta saw it.

"His name was Cloud-dancer."

"What have you done to him?" She knew she was playing right into his hands but she didn't care anymore.

"Well, it's unfortunate really. If he had just done as we asked." Basta let out a dramatic sigh while Slasher just stood there still smiling that stupid smile. "Needless to say he didn't make it."

Time seemed to come to a halt. Oh no. Not Cloud-dancer. Please no. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. _He didn't make it_. The words seemed to echo around the room.

"How- how could you?" Brianna managed to choke out. She expected the tears to come flooding but they did not. The shock and disbelief seemed to keep them at bay, for now.

Once again Basta smiled. "It was all over quickly if it makes you feel any better. Nothing like what I have planned for you," he said. "And your father," he added as an afterthought.

Basta and Slasher both left the room laughing, closing the door behind them and leaving her alone in the darkness. She was going to die. She was going to die and there was nothing she or anybody else could do about it. She was far away from the reach of the castle guards and the Black Prince would have no idea where she was. She could not even hope that her father would be able to reach her somehow. She had been so distant to both him and her mother that it was unlikely that they would even realise that she was missing.

That's when the tears came and despair took over.

**Just so you all know i'm probably not going to do many more chapters after this i will end it over the next couple of chapters but the same again let me know what you thought of it because it was my first try and i realise its not perfect.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Dustfinger, Farid and Meggie have found the captives and managed to set some of them free including the Black Prince. They have just told the Black Prince what has happened…..**

**!!!!!!!!!!!!I don't own any of the characters, etc!!!!!!!!!!!!**

The Black Prince just shook his head in disbelief. "What the hell was that girl thinking?"

Meggie looked up. "It's not her fault."

"She shouldn't have left the castle."

"The castle was not safe anymore. The Adderhead and the Piper were both there. She probably just-"

"The guards were there. They would not have let anything happen to her," the Black Prince said curtly.

Dustfinger was staring out into the trees as though his daughter would just magically appear between them. He was only half-listening to the conversation. Where could he have taken her? Where?

They sat in silence for some time. The night had closed in around them and Meggie could hardly make out anything around her. Carefully she made her way to where she could just about see the outline of Dustfinger.

"Dustfinger?" It was the hesitance in her voice was what made him look round. She was scared; most likely for her parents. "Can we…erm….could we maybe….I need to……."

Dustfinger waited for her to get the words out. He wondered what she could want that would make her so scared to tell him.

"Can we go the Spelt-Mill?" Meggie held her breath and waited for him to say something. When he didn't, she continued. "Only I left a message for Fenoglio with Cloud-dancer and-"

"No."

"But-"

"No." He had absolutely no desire to find out what that old man had to say about anything. All he ever did was make things worse. Besides he already knew that the man would not be able to help Brianna and that was all he could care about right now.

"I think that you should go."

Dustfinger looked at the Black Prince as if he had lost his mind.

"I know what you're thinking but just listen to me. We have no idea where to even begin to look for Brianna. People pass through by the Mill all the time, there's a good chance that if anyone has heard anything or if Basta has gone through that way, the miller will know. It's worth a shot."

Dustfinger sighed. He did not like to admit it but the Black Prince was right. He didn't know where Brianna or Basta was and if he was honest with himself he had no better ideas.

"Fine."

"Good. Now you should really get going as soon as you can. From here it should at least a few days to get to the-"

"You're not coming with us?" Farid asked. It didn't surprise Dustfinger in the least; of course the Black Prince would have work to do.

"No I'm not going but promise me that you will send word as soon as you hear anything." The Black Prince was looking directly at Dustfinger as he said this and Dustfinger responded with a nod. Apparently this was good enough for the Prince because he wished them all good luck and left.

"Come on," mumbled Dustfinger as he set off in the direction of the Spelt-Mill.

**I'm sorry about the shortness of the chapter but i think it was important to set the next one up properly. Once again let me know what you all think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**!!!!!I don't own any of the characters, etc!!!!!!**

**Chapter 7**

Basta was keeping a tight hold on Brianna; not that she had the energy to go very far anyway. She hadn't eaten or slept properly in days or was it weeks? Time had slipped by when she was in the old charcoal-burners' hut and Brianna no longer had any idea how long she had been with Basta and Slasher but it didn't matter anymore. She had long since given up any hope of getting out of this.

A little while before Basta had said something about her father and a girl…..she couldn't remember the girls' name. They had taken her to the Spelt mill, she had never been here before but she had been told all about it by the strolling players.

"They are taking their time," said Slasher impatiently.

"They will be here soon enough. The girl's letter said that this is where they would be, we just have to wait."

"I don't like waiting."

"Well it's a good thing we have a certain someone to keep us company," replied Basta, putting a hand under Brianna's chin and lifting her head which had been drooping every so slightly. She was so tired. So very tired.

"Soon he will be here princess and that's when the fun really begins."

"Shove it Basta," her voice was weak but there was no mistaking the hate that was within it.

Basta raised his hand and slapped her. Hard. Once again her vision blurred and she thought she could hear voices. Wait a minute. She _could_ hear voices. It sounded almost like……no it couldn't be.

Brianna raised her head and what she saw made her heart stop. Dad.

Her father and that girl that had been with the Inkweaver were standing there in the doorway staring at the scene.

"Basta what have you done?" Her fathers' voice was barely more than a whisper but it carried across the room clearly. It was then that Brianna realised how she must look. Neither Basta nor Slasher had been gentle with her. She could feel her fathers' gaze taking in her appearance: her deathly pale face, her frail looking arms and the bruises that covered her body along with the fresh red mark that Basta's slap had just left.

"Nice of you to join us fire-eater."

"Let her go." This time anger shook Dustfingers' voice.

"No I don't think so," Basta smiled. "You have been a thorn in my side for too long. I happen to think that this is the perfect revenge." He stroked Brianna's cheek. "She isn't looking too good is she?"

"Leave her alone Basta!" yelled Meggie.

Brianna was beginning to loose consciousness again. She didn't think she could stay awake much longer. She was going to die and so was her father. This was all her fault. Why couldn't she have just done as she was told for once? The Black Prince had _told_ her to stay in the castle but she didn't listen.

"You're fight is with me." The familiar smell of smoke along with the sound of Dustfinger's voice kept Brianna from fading. She forced herself to look up. She was vaguely surprised to see that her dad was not the source of the smoke but when she looked into his eyes she forgot all about the smoke and everything else. Their eyes had locked, neither of them wanting to look away; his searching for some sign that she was going to pull through this and hers looking for the kind of reassurance that only a parent can give.

"I'm just having a little fun. Besides what are you going to do about it? You take a single step closer and I will not be responsible for what happens to little Brianna here. Slasher wanted to kill her back when we first left Ombra but this is much better." A large smile spread across his lips. "I have to say I'm quite enjoying myself. It's a pity that the lovely Roxanne couldn't have graced us with her presence but I suppose we can't have everything can we fire-eater? But I tell you what! Since we've known each other for so long, I will personally take the news or yours and your daughter's deaths to her. Oh and don't think that we have forgotten about you little witch," turning to Meggie for the first time. "We have a special fate awaiting you."

Unfortunately for Basta, while he was busy gloating over them, he hadn't noticed that the smell of smoke had become significantly stronger. It was Dustfinger that noticed the fire first. Basta yelled and dropped Brianna in shock. Brianna, not being able to support her own weight, fell to the ground.

"Farid, get Brianna and Meggie and go." Brianna felt hands turn her over and lift her from her lying position on the floor. She saw a boy that had not been there before, it was the boy that had yelled at her at her mother's house. He half carried her and half dragged her towards the window, yelling something at Meggie who swiftly jumped out of the window.

Fire was spreading quickly destroying everything in it's path. Brianna turned around; her eyes searching through the smoke that now filled the room for any sign of her father. She yelled over and over again until she saw him.

Dustfinger was surrounded by flames but that wasn't what scared her. Basta was there with his knife striking the air blindly getting closer to his enemy all the time. He was getting dangerously close to her father who was not moving out of his way. What was he doing?

"DAD!"

Dustfinger looked around. "Farid get her out of here now." But Brianna had seen Basta's knife reach her father's leg. She screamed and with a ferocity that she wouldn't have thought possible only five minutes ago, she struggled against Farid who was still attempting to pull her towards the window.

Suddenly Dustfinger was there beside them. "Let's go." Brianna saw his pale face but she did as she was told. Screams and yells could be heard from all around them but they jumped out of the window without a second glance back.

**Once again review and let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay so last chapter….for now at least. I'm debating whether I should write a sequel but anyway……This was by far the hardest chapter to write and that's why it's taken so long to update. **

**HUGE thank you to Whatsthenews and InkStainedFire who have both stuck with this story from the very beginning so thank you thank you thank you!**

**!!!!!I don't own any of the characters, etc!!!!!!**

**Chapter 8**

After getting far enough away from the burning mill so that the smoke and ash could no longer cloud their senses, Dustfinger, Brianna, Meggie and Farid collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. They had run, regardless of their various injuries, as fast as their legs could take them away from the Spelt-Mill and it was a long time before any of them dared to stop.

Meggie was the first to break the silence. "Where are we going?" she asked Dustfinger.

"I know someone who will be able to help us," he replied looking at her.

"Is it far?" said Meggie looking at Brianna pointedly. Dustfinger followed her gaze and saw his daughters' pale face under the fiery hair. She had her eyes shut as though she was hoping that the next time she opened them, all of this would be gone and she would be back safe and sound back in the castle.

But in reality that was not what was going through Brianna's head. She could feel all three of them looking at her but still she did not open her eyes. She didn't want to see anybody right now. She just wanted to stop feeling for a little while. She wanted everything to stop. But there was an indescribable amount of pain spreading through her entire body. Evidently this showed on her face because the next thing she knew was the warmth of somebody's body close beside her and strong arms suddenly surrounding her.

"Brianna?" Her eyes fluttered open against her will to see her father's face just inches from hers full of concern. Slowly she felt all the events over the last few days take their toll and all the emotions that she had tried so hard to hold back came flooding out of her. Dustfinger pulled her closer and let her cry silently into his shoulder.

He had no idea how many times she had cried herself to sleep over the years just wishing that he would do exactly what he was doing now; making her feel safe again. He didn't say a word to her; he just stroked her hair as she sobbed. She didn't know how long they sat on the grass like that while Meggie took Farid to a small stream to try to cool the burns on his hands.

It took the best part of a day to reach the infirmary and the Barn Owl (an old friend of Dustfinger). After fussing over Brianna for what felt to her like hours, he finally left her alone long enough to go and talk to her father in his office.

She lied on the soft bed in the private room on her own; trying not to think. At some point she must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing she knew she was being rudely awakened by the sound of her parents shouting at each other from outside the room.

"How dare you! She's my daughter!"

"She's my daughter too Roxanne."

"Yes but you're not the person who has raised her for the last ten years!"

"That's not fair!"

"Well you leaving me in the dark when my daughter is in danger isn't fair either."

"Roxanne."

"You had no right to keep this from me."

"What good would it have done Rox-"

"I HAD TO FIND OUT FROM THOSE GOSSIPING-"

"Roxanne stop it! What would you have done if you had known?"

"That's not the point and you know it."

They stopped yelling at each other and Brianna struggled to hear the next few words.

"I'm taking her back tonight. You can just do whatever you like Dustfinger."

"I really don't think that's a good idea."

The door to Brianna's room opened so fast, she barely had time to close her eyes and feign sleep.

"Brianna, sweetheart. Come on love wake up. I think its time you came home."


	9. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Author's Note**

I have started the sequel to Ten Years, Its called The Right Words and its up and running. I am already writing chapter 3 so please read it and let me know what you think.


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